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21 Rabbis join PM Stephen Harper for Israel trip

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, and his wife Laureen receive flowers from Israeli children after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on January 19, 2014. (REUTERS/Heidi Levine/Pool)

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived here Sunday for his first-ever visit to Israel leading a monster-sized delegation that includes 21 rabbis.

Harper left Ottawa Saturday night with his red, white, and blue Royal Canadian Air Force jet crammed with what is easily the largest delegation he has ever had for an overseas trip.

As the plane departed Ottawa, Harper's aides distributed a list of 208 individuals that is part of Harper's official accompanying party for his four days in Israel.

In addition to the 21 rabbis on that list, there are also 27 chief executives of Canadian companies, at least one Roman Catholic priest, a handful of lobbyists, and other representatives from corporate Canada.

On top of that, Harper is travelling with cabinet ministers James Moore, Ed Fast, Christian Paradis, John Baird, Jason Kenney and Joe Oliver.

But that's just the start of the parliamentary contingent. There are also eight MPs -- Alberta's Blake Richards, Ontario's John Carmichael, Chungsen Leung, David Sweet, Peter Kent and Mark Adler, Manitoba's Joyce Bateman, and B.C.'s James Lunney -- plus two senators -- Irving Gerstein and Judith Seidman.

Harper is also accompanied by his regular retinue of advisors, press secretaries, RCMP security staff and bureaucrats. And, in the back of the plane, there is a regular-sized group of about 15 members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery who will report on the trip.

Some of the travel and hotel bills for most of that delegation will be paid for by taxpayers. That total is not yet available.

Media organizations, though, including Sun News Network, pay their own freight, as they usually do. For this trip, media organizations are paying $8,000 for the flight, hotel and ground transportation for each reporter, photographer, and camera person covering Harper's trip.

Harper's four days in Israel will be a mix of political and cultural events.

For example, on Monday, he will become the first sitting Canadian prime minister to address the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament and will do that hours after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. But before he gets to that, he'll pay a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the place where many Christians believe Jesus Christ was born.

Harper will spend four days here and then, on Wednesday night he'll head to Amman, Jordan, where he'll spend three nights before returning Saturday.